Grant County School Bus driver accepts plea deal

Crash sent 17 kids to hospital

Two days after refusing a plea deal that would send her to prison for a minimum of 10 years and two months, the 29-year-old walked into a Grant County courtroom Friday afternoon and accepted the same deal.

The Grant County school bus driver who crashed her bus into a pole Jan. 17, sending all 17 students on board to hospitals, pleaded guilty to 25 charges of drug possession, wanton endangerment and assault. In exchange, Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Crawford recommended a 22-year sentence with eligibility for parole after 122 months.

Cody Shively, 12, of Dry Ridge, was one of two children who received head injuries in the crash. He sat in the front row of the courtroom, wearing a helmet to protect his skull.

Cody said he "wanted her to stay in prison for 100 years."

After the crash, investigators found more than 40 bottles of prescription medications in Young's Williamstown apartment. A urine test revealed drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and the prescription painkiller Darvocet, in her system at the time of the wreck.

She had only slept about five hours the night before the crash, investigators said.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer, photo by PATRICK REDDY.

Museum's 'Adam' has sexy past

In case you missed it...The man picked as Adam by a museum based on the Bible’s version of Earth’s history led quite a different life outside the Garden of Eden, flaunting his sexual exploits online and modeling for a line of clothing with an explicit mascot.

Registration records show that Eric Linden, who portrays Adam taking his first breath in a film at the newly opened Creation Museum, owns a graphic Web site called Bedroom Acrobat. He has been pictured there, smiling alongside a drag queen, in a T-shirt brandishing the site’s sexually suggestive logo.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Webb moves to Beechwood

Ginger Webb is moving on.

The Campbell County High principal who was informed last month by Superintendent Anthony Strong that she would not be welcomed back next year has been named the new principal at Beechwood High School in Fort Mitchell.

Webb will take over July 1 for Glen Miller, who is moving from principal to district superintendent. Miller is replacing Fred Bassett, who is retiring June 30.

"I really struggled with leaving Campbell. I felt like we were on our way to turning the corner and doing wonderful things," Webb said.

"But the truth is I work for the superintendent, and he made it clear that he wants someone else. I felt it was in the best interest of the school to move somewhere else."

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

MySpace.com will help police track activities

Former Boone County Schools bus driver Andrew Grabow had pictures of two girls he is charged with sexually exploiting on his MySpace.com profile.

Brian John Graham, a Canadian who was living in Burlington illegally, is charged with being the man shown molesting an 18-month-old child in pictures found on Yahoo's vast network of Web pages.

Authorities say these Northern Kentucky examples show the need to regulate online activities.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer and this from Stateline.org.

Campbell County Board would consider Webb

Superintendent outlines plan to replace principal

As principal of Campbell County High School, Ginger Webb had to introduce Superintendent Anthony Strong on Thursday to talk about item six on the school's site-based council meeting agenda: "Principal Selection."

"It was very uncomfortable," Webb said after the meeting.

Last month, Strong informed Webb, in her third year on the job, that her contract would not be renewed for the 2007-08 school year - a decision that has caused an uproar within the community...

...The job has been posted for two weeks and will be posted for about two more. Strong said he has 10 applications. He and a committee of district administrators and site-based members likely will screen applicants the first week of June. At any point, the council - which makes the final decision - can ask him for the resumes of qualified applicants.

Though Webb has not applied for the job, she said Thursday that she is strongly considering it - and the council would consider hiring her.

"If Mrs. Webb applies, I would definitely ask to see her resume," council member and special education teacher Roseann McCafferty said.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame, first inductions in January

Everybody can think of a teacher who positively influenced his or her life. Now is the chance to honor some of those instructors.

Nominations are being accepted for the first class of the Gov. Louie B. Nunn Kentucky Teacher Hall of Fame.

The hall will be part of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Western Kentucky University. The first induction ceremony will be in January. It's being started with a $30,000 gift from Nunn, who served as governor in 1967-71. Nunn died in 2004 at age 79.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Bus crash victim to throw 1st pitch at tonight's Reds game

Cody Shively, the 12-year-old who was the last victim of a Grant County school bus crash to leave the hospital, will get to throw out the first pitch at Friday's Reds game.

Shively was in intensive care for a month after he and 16 other students were injured on U.S. 25 in Dry Ridge when their bus went off the road and splintered a telephone pole on Jan. 17. He left Children's Hospital Medical Center on April 13.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Thomas More College gets new image

Thomas More College unveiled its new "Saints" logo today, which features a portrait of the college's namesake, Thomas More.

In a statement, Athletics Director Terry Connor said the logo is "a bolder identity that the entire campus and College community will embrace."

Dean of Students Matt Webster said the design of the new logo was a collaborative process that included the entire TMC community.

The college has also changed its school colors back to royal blue and white, from dark blue and white.

NKU sets policy on protests

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

No longer will campus demonstrations be limited to a small, confined area outside the University Center; parades and marches will be permitted; and chalking will be allowed to continue.

“The act of caging free speech wasn’t just a physical act, but a mental act,” said junior Alex Kindell. “A university is supposed to be where speech is expressed freely.”

Kindell, president of NKU’s Students for Choice, was a leader in getting the policy changed. Under the old policy, students who wanted to protest or rally could do it only in that segregated area next to the University Center.

Is Barbara Erwin Kentucky's new Schools Chief?

Calling Erwin "the leading candidate" for the job, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports and the "board decided in a closed-door session on Tuesday that she was their top choice."

“The three finalists all brought excellent qualities to the table, and we believe that Erwin will carry forth the board’s vision and mission to benefit all of Kentucky’s public school students, parents, teachers and administrators,” said Keith Travis, chairman of the board.

The state board plans to ratify a contract worth $220,000 annually at their May 9 and 10 meeting in Bowling Green.

Erwin would become the first woman to hold the position since Kentucky began naming a commissioner in 1990. Prior to that, Kentucky elected superintendents of public instructions.

Also from the Herald-Leader, the Courier-Journal and the KDE press release.

NKU wants off-campus exodus

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

Northern Kentucky University is trying to get as many students housed off-campus as possible to alleviate the campus housing shortage.

Five Suits now filed over Grant County bus crash

Lawsuits filed in Grant Circuit Court against Grant County school bus driver Angelynna Young allege she "had little or no sleep the night before" and was "under the influence of prescription and illegal substances" when she crashed her bus into a utility pole on Jan. 17.

The parents of 12-year-old Cody Shively name 21 Grant County School District officials and plan to investigate which school officials could be held personally liable for the crash. The suit claims school officials were negligent when they "ignored complaints" about Young's driving and allowed her to continue driving the bus. Young had no disciplinary actions or complaints in her personnel file but several parents of injured students had told The Enquirer that they complained to the school several times about Young's driving.

After the crash, state police found 41 bottles of prescription drugs in Young's home. She has been charged with two counts of first-degree assault, 15 counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, three felony drug charges and five misdemeanor drug charges.

This from Brenna R. Kelly of the Cincinnati Enquirer...and this.

New skate park to alleviate school damage, danger to teens

Skateboards have worn down steps and benches in Newport Middle School's parking lot where teenagers often congregate.

This puts school officials in the tough position of choosing whether to run the skaters off the property into the city, where they could get hurt, or let them skate in the parking lot, where they can also get hurt and do damage, said Paul Baker, youth services center at the middle school and the grant writer for the skate park.

By October, school and city leaders hope to have a skate park underneath the Interstate 471 overpass by Campbell County High School to send the skaters to.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Driving seminar makes Bishop Brossart students ill

School officials said five ill students might have been affected by graphic photographs of car accidents featured during the presentation, given by the Alexandria Police Department. Such programs are routinely offered at area high schools to help teach teenagers the risks of driving recklessly.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mom wants principal fired after he confesses "blatant ignorance" of racial discrimination

The mother of a Lakota student said she wants the white Independence Elementary principal fired after he acknowledged that her African-American son suffered discrimination from white classmates, and that his own racial attitude led to a too-lenient punishment.

In the March 30 letter obtained Monday by The Enquirer, Principal Greg Finke apologized to Toshimi Scott and took "full responsibility" for the punishment.

Finke, in his letter, stated that he was "embarrassed" after reflecting "on my personal beliefs and attitudes toward race and race relations" and his "blatant ignorance" regarding racial discrimination.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Schools push novel fundraiser

The district wants to put the billboard on a small plot of land it owns between I-471 and Newport High School. Per an agreement with Norton Outdoor Advertising, the district would receive a 15-year deal valued at nearly $1 million: $600,000 plus 500 daily eight-second advertising spots.

Fronm the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Seven students, driver sent to hospital after 3-bus crash

An accident involving three school buses Monday afternoon sent seven Campbell County Middle School students and one driver to the hospital.

The accident occurred about 2:30 p.m. in front of the Campbell County Schools bus garage on U.S. 27.

The three buses were driving south in line on U.S. 27 from the middle school to pick up students at Campbell County High School when heavy traffic forced them stop in front of the garage.

The first two buses stopped, but the third did not stop in time, according to Juli Hale, spokeswoman for the district.

Hale said the third bus rear-ended the second bus, pushing that bus into the first bus.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Are they ready for college?

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

A report designed to help Kentucky public and private high schools determine their strengths and weaknesses in preparing students for post-secondary education was released Monday.

The "Kentucky High School Feedback Report: Class of 2004," shows various data for each school, including: ACT scores and grade-point averages; percentage of students with developmental needs; number of Advanced Placement tests taken; graduation rates; and college grades.

The data are based only on those students who graduated in spring 2004, took the ACT and matriculated to an in-state postsecondary institution...

"It does not capture every single kid, but it does give a good sample," said Lisa Gross, spokeswoman for the department of education.

For example, according to the report, Beechwood High School had a cumulative GPA of 3.01, an in-state college-going rate of 49.4 percent and 24.4 percent of its students had developmental needs in one or more subjects. That information could help Beechwood determine where it needs to strengthen its curriculum.

But Beechwood Superintendent Fred Bassett pointed out that 84.4 percent of the 2004 class went to college - including those who went to out-of-state schools. And because many went to reputable schools such as Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame and Xavier University, Beechwood's cumulative GPA likely would be higher and its percentage of students with developmental needs would likely be lower if those out-of-state students were included.

TO CHECK YOUR SCHOOL
The "Kentucky High School Feedback Report: Class of 2004" data for all public and private high schools is available online (www.cpe.ky.gov/news/reports/highschoolfeedback).

Teaching children art comes from the heart

PHOTO BY MEGGAN BOOKER/THE ENQUIRER

First there's the former graduate-student perspective on art teacher Judy Haynes:
"She's got strong interpersonal skills, is very knowledgeable in her field and is a great model for her students," said Lisa Jameson, now a professor of art education at Northern Kentucky University.


Then there's the kindergarten-student perspective:



"You get to have fun in her class instead of doing work," said 6-year-old Tahj Harding. "She doesn't teach us homework. That's what I like about her."


Haynes, 54, has spent the past 12 summers teaching in the master's of art and art education program at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. She's also taught art to children at Fourth Street Elementary in Newport for 25 years.


Haynes was honored for her service and expertise March 12 in New York City by the National Art Education Association. She was named the organization's Southeast Region Elementary Art Educator of the Year, one of four regional awards nationwide.

This from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Covington Board member speaks out against Stumbo

The Cincinnati Post reports:

A Covington school board member is speaking out against the effort of the state's highest law enforcement officer to unseat him.

Paul Mullins, elected to the Covington school board in November, planned a statement this morning outside the Covington headquarters of the Lunsford/Stumbo campaign slate, on which Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo is running for lieutenant governor.

On March 22, Stumbo filed suit in Kenton Circuit Court to have Mullins removed from office.
The issue is that at the time of his election, Mullins drove a bus for Covington schools and did not give up that job until about a month after the November election...

[Covington Superintendent Jack Moreland] said Mullins has acknowledged publicly that a school board employee told him before the election that he would need to resign as a bus driver before the election.

"Paul Mullins is a good man, I hate that this all happened the way that it did," Moreland said.

And this from the Cincinnati Enquirer.